Self and milton keene



H. J. WIGKHAM. JACK FOR KN ITZI'ING NEEDLES.

No. 81,235. Patented Aug. 18, 1868.

HORACE J. WICKHAM, OF MANCHESTER, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO HIM- SELF AND MILTON KEENEKOF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 81,235, dated August 18, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN JACK FOB KNITTIN G-NEEDLE.

dig: gtllthlllt marsh in in ilgese fitters hated zmt mating part at ilge sums.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, HORACE J. WICKIiAM, of Manchester, county of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in the Construction of KnittingJacks, which are employed to support and carry a single needle; and, to enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, I will proceed to describe it. '7 I In that class ofknitting-maehines in which each needle is secured to a rising and falling jack, they are usually soldered or riveted firmly to the jacks, and have no movement whatever independent of the jack. The consequence of this mode of=nttacl1ment is that when any undue strain comes upon the needle, it is either broken or more or less unsoldcrcd so as tobe inoperative, and thus occasions much delay, and some trouble and expense to repair or replace it.

The object of myinvention is to secure the needle as firmly as may be required to the jack, and yet to dispense altogether with soldering or riveting, or with plugs or wedges, or any other means of positively uniting them into one, at the same time securing to the needle every movement needed, but giving it in addition a slight latitude of play in the direction of the usual strain upon it, withoutany liability or risk of dislodging it from its true position. i p

My construction also allows of an almost instantaneous removal of a broken or bent needle, and the substitution of another in its place. i

In the accompanying drawings, aj ack is shown, constructed in accordance with my invention, and with a needle adapted thereto, inserted in its proper position, a representing the needle','--and e the'jack.

The manner of arranging and operating these jacks in a knitting-machine need not be described further than to say that a moving-plate, having a cam-groove therein is usually employed, to raise and lower in succession eachIjnck with its needle; and the jacks are ordinarily made of about'the form'shown in the-drawings, with the exception of the parts cl and e, in which consists my invention.

My improved jacks differ from those now in common use, in this respect, that instead ofhaving a slit in the upper end, the metal is cut away from the back ot'the jack, as shown at d, enough to admit the shank of the needle, and a notch, e, is cut transversely to receive the bent end of the needle. The outer or upper end of the rebate d is made slightly diverging from the line of the back of the jack, the object of which is to'allow play of the needle between the notch c and the end of the jack,- thus aifordinggreater elasticity to the needle and less liability of breaking it. The lower end of this needle, a, is bent into a right-angled shape, or nearly so, as shown in the drawings. Said needle is bent forward justabove the upper end of the jack, more or less, so as to bring the body of the needle into its proper relative position with the other mechanism of the machine. With my construction, the needle ismore elastic, less liable to brealg and more easilyeonneeted and disconnected to or from the jack. I

I believe I have thus shown the nature, construction, and advantage of this improv e'ment, so as to enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same therefrom.

I um aware that knitting-needles have been made with a right-angled bend at their butts, and that such butts have been held in holes drilled in a stationary frame, and that such butts have beenzinserted in slots in the top of the needle-plate, and then held in place by means of a spring, and tightened by a wedge, which is forced down into such slot; and that in such case the removal of such spring and wedge is necessary before the needle can be removed. These I do not claim; but I What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

Alcnitting-needle jack, constructed with an inclined rebate, d, and slot e, as and for the purposes set forth.

. HORACE J. WICKHAM.

Witnesses N. O. \VILDER, JEREMY W. Buss. 

